Indira Gandhi
Profiles of Indian Political Leaders
Indira Gandhi
(1917-1984)
Indira Gandhi was the only child of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the grand daughter of freedom fighter Motilal Nehru.
Indira was born on November 19, 1917. Her mother Kamala Nehru died when Indira was still a young girl. Although Indira attended Somerville College, Oxford, she did not graduate. Other schools Indira attended include Ecole Nouvelle, Bex (Switzerland); Ecole Internationale, Geneva; Pupils' Own School, Poona and Bombay; Badminton School, Bristol; and Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan.
Indira's official biography credits her with founding the Bal Charkha Sangh and the Vanar Sena (monkey brigade) of children in 1930 to help the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement against the British colonial rulers. She was also imprisoned in September 1942, and is said to have worked in the violence-affected areas of Delhi in 1947.
Her marriage to Feroze Gandhi on March 26, 1942 does not seem to have been a happy one. Feroze Gandhi, who was considered an able parliamentarian, died in 1960. The marriage resulted in two sons - Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.
Born into such a distinguished political family, it's hardly surprising that Indira would eventually gravitate towards politics.
After India achieved independence in 1947, Indira's father Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of the country. Indira acted as his hostess and accompanied him on some of his foreign visits.
Although Indira had become active in Congress party politics in the mid-1950s itself when her father was still alive, she first became a minister (Minister of Information and Broadcasting) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964.
Indira became Prime Minister in 1966 after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent. After Shastri's death, the senior leaders in the Congress party could not agree on a consensus candidate and picked on Indira thinking she
Indira Gandhi
(1917-1984)
Indira Gandhi was the only child of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the grand daughter of freedom fighter Motilal Nehru.
Indira was born on November 19, 1917. Her mother Kamala Nehru died when Indira was still a young girl. Although Indira attended Somerville College, Oxford, she did not graduate. Other schools Indira attended include Ecole Nouvelle, Bex (Switzerland); Ecole Internationale, Geneva; Pupils' Own School, Poona and Bombay; Badminton School, Bristol; and Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan.
Indira's official biography credits her with founding the Bal Charkha Sangh and the Vanar Sena (monkey brigade) of children in 1930 to help the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement against the British colonial rulers. She was also imprisoned in September 1942, and is said to have worked in the violence-affected areas of Delhi in 1947.
Her marriage to Feroze Gandhi on March 26, 1942 does not seem to have been a happy one. Feroze Gandhi, who was considered an able parliamentarian, died in 1960. The marriage resulted in two sons - Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.
Born into such a distinguished political family, it's hardly surprising that Indira would eventually gravitate towards politics.
After India achieved independence in 1947, Indira's father Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of the country. Indira acted as his hostess and accompanied him on some of his foreign visits.
Although Indira had become active in Congress party politics in the mid-1950s itself when her father was still alive, she first became a minister (Minister of Information and Broadcasting) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964.
Indira became Prime Minister in 1966 after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent. After Shastri's death, the senior leaders in the Congress party could not agree on a consensus candidate and picked on Indira thinking she